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University of Tennessee student's lawyer claims false information released in alcohol enema incident

Student says he had never heard of 'butt chugging'

3:14 PM, Oct 3, 2012

3:22 PM, Oct 3, 2012

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Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -
Alexander P. Broughton, the University of Tennessee student at the center of last month's infamous alcohol enema allegations, insists that he had never heard of "butt chugging" before he woke up in a hospital.

The 20-year-old sophomore was brought to the University of Tennessee Medical Center emergency room in the early morning hours of Sept. 22 unconscious, with a blood-alcohol level of nearly 0.45 percent and a bloody rectum, police said.

According to a UT police report, one of the young men who brought him to the ER -- later identified as Broughton's cousin -- told an investigator that Broughton and other Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity members had been "butt chugging" wine.

The term refers to the use of an enema to consume alcohol to get drunk faster.
The story has since made national headlines, while the fraternity's UT chapter has been suspended and kicked off campus until at least 2015.

On Tuesday, Broughton called an on-campus news conference to refute any such claims against him, lashing out at the media, UT administrators and police for the damage done to his reputation.

"The scandalous accusations surrounding that event never happened and I completely deny them," said Broughton, flanked by his attorney and some 60 fraternity members. "The inaccurate reporting this past week has caused me to question institutions that most of us accept as truthful.

"At this point, my intent is to clear my name, my fraternity's name, and to punish those individuals and institutions responsible for the lies spread around the world."

Broughton's Knoxville attorney, Daniel F. McGehee, also made a point of saying that any inference that his client may be gay is false.

"He is a straight man and he thinks the idea, or the concept of 'butt chugging,' is absolutely repulsive," said McGehee, a Pi Kappa Alpha member himself.

The attorney said they intend to take legal action, but "it is yet to be determined" who they will bring a lawsuit against.

Yet he contends that the release of the UT Police Department incident report was in violation of federal medical privacy laws.

McGehee added that Broughton's cousin and fellow UT student, John Patrick Carney -- who is cited in the UT police report as the initial source of the alcohol enema account -- has since denied making any such claims to investigators.

McGehee said he would provide a sworn affidavit from Carney when a lawsuit is filed. Carney did not attend Tuesday's news conference.

A UT spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday on behalf on of the university and campus police.
Broughton, his family and other Pike members have admitted the fraternity was holding a drunken "blackout party" but denied the butt-chugging account. UT officials haven't backed down from that conclusion.

"Evidence collected at the fraternity house later that evening supported this claim," UT officials wrote in disciplinary charges against the fraternity.

UT officials shut down the chapter and ordered the frat house closed Friday, giving the members nine days to pack up.

"The case against the chapter is now behind us," said Tim Rogers, UT vice chancellor for student life. "They cannot operate on this campus for a minimum period of two years."

Police officers who visited the Pike fraternity house shortly after Broughton turned up at the hospital found empty plastic bags of wine, and bloodstains throughout the house and restroom.

Meanwhile, Broughton's injuries prompted medical staff to call for a sexual assault nurse to exam him.
Broughton later tried to blame the bloodstains in the fraternity house on a fight, according to a UT follow-up report.

On Tuesday, the student and his attorney claimed that Broughton sustained his rectal injuries when, unconscious, a fraternity member tried to raise him off the floor and, "used my belt to lift me up, which caused my shorts to be forced into my crotch area, at which time I was told that I defecated on myself," according to a new release.

McGehee said that he and the fraternity's Zeta chapter president, George Bock, arrived at the hospital within hours and that both specifically asked Broughton whether his injuries were the result of "butt chugging."

"He looked at me like I'd lost my mind and asked, 'What is that?'" McGehee said. "That is the first time that he had ever heard of the two words, 'butt chugging,' which have now become two famous words across the United States and across the world."

Asked why the question ever came up if witnesses never made such a claim to police, McGehee accused investigators of inventing the story.

"I just drank way too much and you all are blowing it way out of proportion, said Broughton. "As of yesterday morning, my name had 4.3 million hits on Google -- never thought I'd see the day. … "But I know the truth. I don't care if y'all believe me."

Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.